The Olivier Awards 2013 with MasterCard to be broadcast by ITV and BBC Radio 2 on Sunday 28 April 2013

ITV will be the official television broadcast partner for the 37th Olivier Awards with MasterCard, the UK’s highest stage honours, which take place on Sunday 28 April 2013 at the prestigious Royal Opera House.

• The Olivier Awards 2013 with MasterCard to be broadcast by ITV and BBC Radio 2 • Awards will be co-hosted by Sheridan Smith, with a voiceover from Julia McKenzie • Public voting now open for the BBC Radio 2 Audience Award • Free live event for the public returns to the Covent Garden piazza • Nominations to be broadcast live on BBC Radio 2 on Tuesday 26 March

ITV will be the official television broadcast partner for the 37th Olivier Awards with MasterCard, the UK’s highest stage honours, which take place on Sunday 28 April 2013 at the prestigious Royal Opera House.

The agreed broadcast package includes an Olivier Awards ceremony highlights programme broadcast on the night, shortly after the ceremony ends. Exact broadcast time will be confirmed nearer the date. Executive Producer for the Society of London Theatre will be Julian Bird, and Lee Connolly and Fiona Clark for ITV Studios.

As the official Olivier Awards radio partner, BBC Radio 2 will be broadcasting live radio coverage of the ceremony as in previous years. The programme, to be presented by Ken Bruce, will be broadcast from 6pm.

The Olivier Awards are delighted to announce the first details of the line-up for the ceremony, with news that one of the hosts will be double Olivier Award winner, Sheridan Smith (winner in 2011 and 2012). Julia McKenzie, another double Olivier Award winner, will provide this year’s Awards voiceover.

Further details of the Olivier Awards ceremony will be announced nearer the date but will include performances from some of the nominated musicals, tributes to this year’s Special Award winners and some very special guests. 2013 sees the return of the BBC Radio 2 Audience Award for the Most Popular Show, the only Olivier Award decided entirely by members of the public. Voting was launched on the Elaine Paige on Sunday programme on 27 January and will close on Monday 18 March. Visit www.olivierawards.com to place your vote.

Theatre-loving members of the public are invited to gather in the Covent Garden piazza for a free Olivier Awards celebration, where there will be a relay of the awards ceremony show on big screens as well as live performances on the Radio 2 stage from top West End shows, celebrity hosts, special guests, red carpet fashion tips and much more.

On Tuesday 26 March, for the first time, BBC Radio 2 will broadcast the 2013 Olivier Award nominations live at 11.30am from a theatre industry reception at the Mayfair Theatre at London’s Mayfair Hotel. The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Matilda The Musical, winner of a record seven Olivier Awards in 2012, will perform at the nominations event.

Amphitheatre tickets to The Olivier Awards 2013 with MasterCard are on sale at www.pricelesslondon.co.uk (as of 9am, Tuesday 29 January). To keep up with the latest Olivier Awards news and engage with the Awards online visit Facebook.com/olivierawards, Twitter and Instagram @OlivierAwards #oliviers.

Journalists and bloggers will be able to share any press photos and video media via the Oliviers live-streaming Wall by tagging content with #oliviers via Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or Tumblr. The Wall launches via the Oliviers website and Facebook on 11 February: www.olivierawards.com/thewall